Biographies

Auditor Douglas R. Hoffer

Doug Hoffer of Burlington was elected State Auditor in 2012. He was born September 3, 1951 in New Rochelle, New York and raised in Norwalk, Connecticut. He has also lived in the Berkshires, Central Florida, Baltimore, and Los Angeles. Doug was educated at Williams College (B.A.) and SUNY Buffalo School of Law (J.D., Magna Cum Laude).

Doug came to Vermont in 1988 to work in Burlington’s Community & Economic Development Office. He left City Hall in 1993 and was a self-employed policy analyst for 19 years. A partial list of clients includes the Peace & Justice Center (The Job Gap Study), Vermont State Auditor, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (Farm to Plate), Vermont State Employees Association, Vermont State Treasurer (Economically Targeted Investments), City of Burlington, Burlington Electric Department (Performance Reports), Public Assets Institute, Yellow Wood Associates, Good Jobs First, Ben & Jerry’s, City Market, Renewable Energy Vermont, VNRC, VPIRG, Windham Child Care Association, and the Connecticut River Valley Neighboring Co-Ops.

Over the years, Doug provided considerable pro bono policy guidance for legislators dealing with economic development and related tax policies, the livable wage, and the benefits of strategic import substitution.

In 1994, Doug was appointed by the Mayor and City Council to the Burlington Electric Commission, which oversees the municipal electric utility. He served for six years, including five years as Chair. He was also appointed by the Governor to the Private Activity Bond Advisory Committee on which he continues to serve.

Deputy State Auditor Susan Mesner

She served for 12 years as Economist in the Vermont Department of Taxes prior to coming to the Auditor’s office. At the Tax Department, Susan’s work involved estimating fiscal impacts of tax-related proposals and federal tax changes, producing statistical and expenditure reports, and developing modeling capacity for tax reform initiatives.

She was a key member of the senior staff and played a central role in the development of policy initiatives, testifying frequently to legislative committees and working closely with the Joint Fiscal Office, Legislative Council and other departments within the administration. Susan continues to serve on the Advisory Board of the New England Public Policy Center, an arm of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Susan moved to Vermont in 1983 and worked as a free-lance editor and book producer for eight years before returning to college to pursue economic studies. She was the recipient of a Truman Scholarship at the University of Vermont, where she graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Economics. She received her M.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she also pursued Ph.D. work (ABD). Susan and her husband reside in Montpelier and have three grown children.